In November of 2016, the Zinoro 60H was launched. That's a compact plug-in hybrid SUV with an electric range of around 60 km...
and a 1.5-litre 3-cylinder engine at the front. You might wonder, why is Jan telling me this? Well, that car pretty much was a plug-in hybrid...
version of the BMW X1, which is a type we haven't seen here before. Of course, we had the 225 xE, which was the plug-in hybrid MPV,
and Mini offered the Countryman as a plug-in as well. But BMW never fitted a plug-in hybrid drivetrain in the X1. Until now that is.
That this X1 xDrive25E has only been introduced now, is quite remarkable. BMW already had all of the pieces, they only needed to put them together.
And we're not only talking about China. As I said before, Europe already had the BMW 225xE Active Tourer and the plug-in Mini Countryman. Both...
of which this X1 shares its platform and drivetrain with. That means there's a 1.5-litre 3-cylinder in the front, driving the front wheels.
Just like in a 218i for example. It also has an electric motor driving the rear wheels, hence the xDrive-name. That's the reason it has four-wheel drive.
When it comes to the numbers, there are some small differences with the Active Tourer and the Countryman. This drivetrain produces 220 horsepower...
instead of the usual 224 horsepower. BMW calls that tuning differences and leaves it at that. They're still the same drivetrain.
That also means this car has a battery pack which is just shy of 10 kWh, 9,7 kWh to be precise. That should get you 57 km on a single charge.
Of course, the car is able to decide itself when it wants to use the electricity based on the satnav. If you're travelling to a big city,
it'll save up the electricity for when you arrive. We already know the idea. However, you're able to control it yourself. There's a mode which immediately...
uses the electricity up to a speed of 135 km/h. But like I said, you're able to save it up for city driving if you want.
That BMW has been working on this drivetrain for a couple of years now, is pretty clear. It all works incredibly smoothly. Incidentally, it shocks a...
bit when you're setting off, but it's nothing noteworthy. Also, it's incredibly quiet. Most 3-cylinders are pretty noisy,
but BMW has covered it up very nicely. It's almost like you're always running on electricity.
You really have to watch your rev counter to see that the combustion engine is running. Until you put your foot down, then it starts buzzing...
quite a bit. On the other hand, it's still pretty rapid. 220 horsepower is quite a lot for a small like this.
It does 0-100 km/h in seven seconds despite the fact it's heavier than a regular X1. Compared with a front-wheel drive 18i, this is...
345 kg heavier. That brings the total weight to 1.820 kg, which is a lot for a small car like this. If we compare that with a regular four-wheel drive...
petrol-version, the difference is still around 175 kg. So does the additional weight hinder us in any way? Well, not at all. Maybe if you directly get out...
of an 18i, but since I'm not coming out of an 18i, I don't really notice the additional weight.
What I do notice however, are the sturdy springs. Something we see quite often with electrified cars. The added weight needs to be compensated.
However, the sturdy settings kind of fit that traditional BMW-feeling. Speaking of traditional BMW-feeling, the steering feels a bit...
artificial around the neutral stance. If you start steering however, the BMW-feeling returns in the blink of an eye.
That's partly because of the seating position, because the seats are very deep. Especially for an SUV. Also, the steering wheel can pulled very close...
towards you, which makes the more active drivers very happy.
When it comes to the interior, there aren't a lot of differences compared with other X1's. It comes with a few additional screens which monitor the...
range and the electrical consumption. Also, it doesn't come with a digital instrument cluster. Not a problem, but quite remarkable in times like this.
What I do want to mention however, is the gear lever. Usually, an X1 with an automatic gearbox comes with a futuristic...
paddle, but this car has a 6-speed automatic gearbox. That's a different kind than in other X1's, so you'll get this ugly gear lever.
It looks like a regular manual gear lever with "P", "R", "N" and "D" written on it. And I don't really like that.
All of those batteries have to be placed somewhere, so this X1 isn't as spacious as regular X1's.
We're talking 450 litres versus 505 litres in the regular X1. However, we can conclude there's a space for the charging cables underneath the floor.
That isn't the case in a lot of other plug-in hybrids. Furthermore, you're able to fold down the rear seat in three ways.
However, you can't shove it forwards or backwards. And for an adult, there's enough room in the back.
If you fold down the seats, this X1 still has about 80 litres less luggage space compared to the regular X1.
You're able to fit a tow bar on this X1 as well, but you're only allowed to tow up to 750 kg.
Despite the fact there aren't any added taxes-benefits anymore for a car like this, it doesn't mean there aren't any financial benefits at all.
For starters, the vehicle tax is halved and you get a big discount on the road tax. That means the price is right inbetween the...
front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive 20i. But this produces much more power and you can drive it electrically.
With that, it seems that there's still a place for this car in the Netherlands, four years after the introduction of the Zinoro 60H.
The X1 xDrive25E is available at your dealership as of now, just like it's brother: the X2 xDrive25E.